


Depart, O Night

by gloriouswhisperstyphoon



Series: the serpent hidden in the poison garden [1]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, mission impossible au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 03:44:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15941096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloriouswhisperstyphoon/pseuds/gloriouswhisperstyphoon
Summary: The music seemed to hold secrets within it, a riddle inside a mystery inside an enigma, almost like the woman in yellow. But there was no time to think on it.Or: The Mission Impossible Rogue Nation AU that no one wanted, but somehow I got prompted to write it anyway.





	Depart, O Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swdsnygeek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swdsnygeek/gifts).



 

Kay’s voice was soft in Cassian’s ear, as he rested his hands on the balcony of the Vienna Opera. “All clear, in position, boss.”

His eyes flicked out over the crowded theatre, looking for a sign of the tall man in white that he'd seen in London.

“Any sign of him, Kay?”

A slight puff of air over the comms. “Half the people here are white men who are wearing glasses, Cassian. You’ll need to be a lot more specific.”

Cassian forced himself to stay still, looking down at the rest of the opera boxes, at where a man sat in a red and white sash amidst a crowd of richly dressed people. 

There was nothing in there - nothing that he could recognise, at least. 

“Kay? Talk to me. How are you going?”

Kay’s voice sounded completely exasperated. “There’s nothing yet. Sit tight, Cassian. This show goes for another two hours. We’ve got plenty of time.”

Onstage, the prince had just started to answer the riddles of the princess while the theatre sat in rapt silence.

A flash of yellow silk moved in the corner of his eye. 

He knew that face from somewhere - he’d seen that woman before -

London!

Oh God, the woman from London was here. In all her capabilities and her uncertain loyalties to boot.

This operation had just become a lot more difficult.

He touched his hand to his earpiece. “Kay, did you get the picture of the woman I drew from London?”

There was a pause over the comms. “What does that mean?”

Cassian’s feet started instinctively moving after her, as he started moving through the corridors of the theatre. “That we’re not going to have two hours to find this guy.”

“What are they after, even?”

_ The man in the opera box with the sash. _

He touched his hand to his earpiece again. “They're going to kill the Austrian chancellor.”

With that, he started hurrying up the catwalks at the back of the stage where he'd seen that flicker of yellow silk. 

The world flashed past him as he started hurrying up the stairs to the back of the stage - he needed a better view of what was going on. There was a crackle of static in his ear and he paused for a moment. 

“What's going on, Kay?”

Another crackle of static. 

Shit, he was too isolated back here. He started hurrying up the catwalks further and the static started forming into words. “...Sniper...catwalk”.

The trees and pagodas that formed the next sets cast long shadows on the ground, their tendrils reaching out into the inky darkness.

Something flickered in it. 

His hand flew to his ear. “Kay, what's going on?”

Below him, the drums started to rumble and the trumpets rose in volume. 

There was a clicking sound from in front of him and Cassian started to walk out onto the metal struts. 

Someone was there, assembling something.

Shit, he was too late. 

Beneath his feet, the strut he was on started to rise and he looked down at the assassin, who was still assembling his rifle.

But where was the woman?

He shook his head.

He needed to deal with this first.

A quick and silent jump onto the next strut.

The metal started to sway under his weight and the other man turned around, his movement cut off as -

Cassian rushed forwards and tackled him, the gun still clenched tight in the assassin’s hand. 

The other man pushed him down, his weight boring down on Cassian. 

His free hand grabbed the gun.

The sounds of the opera echoed beneath them.

His foot reached out and hit something and it fell.

Shit, what was that?

A flicker of movement from beyond them.

Grab the gun with one hand.

Roll the man’s weight over to the side.

Hit him in the head with his own gun

He was caught in the stomach with a sharp kick and the air was knocked out of his lungs.

Static echoed in his ear. 

A flurry of punches before Cassian was able to draw back, sucking in deep breaths. 

Another flurry of punches and he was flying out -

Onto the next strut, landing hard, his ribs aching with pain.

The rich brassiness of the trumpets stopped beneath him, to be replaced with the gentle sound of violins for the next aria.

The assassin stood on the strut above him, as the one he was lying on suddenly began to rise.

What?

There was a sudden flicker of light in the assassin’s hand.

A knife.

He had a knife.

Grab his wrist as the assassin tried to lunge.

Twist the other man’s wrist.

The blade sank home into the assassin’s chest.

The assassin dropped behind him and Cassian didn’t have time to think, just running back onto the struts.

What was their plan?

How would he do it?

He’d have more than one plan. 

The woman in yellow. 

The assassin who had just attacked him.

But there had to be another person in play. And they’d have to have good sightlines as well.

 

His eyes flicked over the rest of the stage and he saw -

Oh shit. 

The lighting booth.

Kay was there too.

Shit!

He stood there for a moment before a crushing weight fell around his neck and he started to struggle in vain against the assassin, his eyes in clear view of the other killer in the lighting booth.

The struts started to shift under their feet again and Cassian used that momentary flicker of distraction to shove the other assassin off, a sickening crunch coming from below. 

Take a deep breath.

The tenor’s voice below started to grow more passionate and more powerful - the aria must be coming to an end. 

Grab the gun in his hand.

Aim it at the lighting booth.

No!

The woman in yellow, she could always kill the Chancellor. 

There she was! In the pagoda set. 

Shit.

Which one to take out?

The final notes of Nessun Dorma started to ring out. 

The barrel of the gun shifted direction from the woman to the assassin, back to the woman, then to -

The Chancellor’s arm suddenly exploded in red, a split second before another shot rang out and hit the chair where his back had been resting a moment ago and his security detail swarmed him, dragging him back to safety. 

Cassian breathed deeply, the rifle still held in his grip. 

The theatre erupted in applause.

He had to get out. Now.

Another shot rang out, this one directly above his head.

The woman.

He scrambled to his feet and started running back out along the struts towards the theatre proper, as a series of other shots started to ring out. 

The corridors of the theatre started to swarm with uniformed policemen as he made it to the stairs above the entry foyer.

The doors started to slam shut below.

Shit.

The sounds of footsteps came to a stop beside him and he turned to his left to see -

He forced himself to stay calm. “I have a way out. Interested?” he said, a wry smile on his face, taking a look at her face for the first time since London. 

Cassian could see the tension in her movements and she seemed more drawn than she had then. 

The woman grabbed his arm as he started to run towards the rooftop stairs. 

There was no time to think on that.

The footsteps of the policemen below continued to ring out as they quickly started to ascend the metal stairs, as he grabbed a rope on the way out. 

Compact fluorescents gave way to the night sky as they reached the roof, his pace not slowing as he continued to run along the rooftop.

They needed to get out of here before the police managed to set up a perimeter. 

“Is there anything you want to tell me?” he managed to grind out.

The woman’s voice was strong behind him. “Not really!”

He jumped down from the rooftop to a lower walkway that ran the length of the facade.

The woman sat there on the ledge dangling her feet in front of his face.

He looked up at her, an eyebrow raised.

She dangled her feet again. “Shoes!”

What?

“Shoes, please!”

Cassian rolled his eyes, grabbing them, before handing them over to her after she’d managed to get down.

“What next?” she panted, looking down at the sloping roof before Cassian slid down, going too fast towards the sheer drop only to be -

He turned to see the woman grabbing him hard by the back of his jacket to break his fall, looking decidedly less put together than she had earlier in the evening.

“How do we get out?”

His eyes flicked to the Austrian flags that lined the facade above their heads.

He grabbed the rope, knotting it quickly over itself and hoping that the flagpole could hold the two of them, before pulling to test its weight.

There was an ominous creak.

The sound of police radios started to ring out and he could see the dark figures of police uniforms making their way along the rooftop.

Shit.

Oh well, they didn’t have very many other options.

He grabbed the woman by her waist, pulling her tight towards him as they slid towards the ground. 

She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow as they started to walk out towards the Opernring, her shoes clutched tight in her hand.

An almighty thud rang out behind them and Cassian resisted the urge to turn back to look at the flagpole that they had undoubtedly destroyed. 

A series of dark, unmarked cars started to rush along the road in front of them, before -

The convoy suddenly erupted into flames.

The Chancellor.

Screams started to erupt around them.

The woman was gripping his arm tight, her face a mask of horror.

A small black car pulled up in front of them, Kay’s face looking at them. “What are you waiting for? Get in!”

There was a moment of silence in the car once they got in that was shattered when Kay seemed to realise who else was in the car with them. “Cassian, this is a terrible idea. She tried to shoot me!"

She let out a laugh. “I’m guessing that I’m not the first, though, am I right?”

He could hear Kay taking a breath from the front seat, undoubtedly to start arguing with her, when Cassian turned to face the woman instead. “Sorry, miss. I’m going to have to search you, if that’s alright.”

She grinned, her face seeming to lighten with it. “You don’t need to call me miss. It’s just Jyn Erso. And I'm assuming that I'm dealing with Cassian Andor?”

He nodded slightly. “Very well, then, Jyn. I’m assuming you’re deep cover?”

Kay’s voice was sharp. “You know her?”

His hands started to move over the folds of her dress, searching for any weapons she might have.

Jyn shrugged. “Oh, you know how it goes. A girl finds a shirtless man in a torture dungeon and she only does what she deems -”

Cassian held a sharp knife in front of her, which she reached out to try and grab. “British Intelligence?”

Another shrug. “Debatable, at this point in time.”

He pulled something else out of her garter, holding it in front of her. 

“That shade of lipstick is very hard to find,” she said, taking a meaningful look at the tube.

Cassian cocked his head and tucked into his pocket, receiving an approving nod in return. “What were you doing at the Opera tonight?”

She opened her mouth to reply, before being cut off by Kay. “I hate to say this, Cassian, but I suggest we dump her on the side of the road - someone’s following us."

He glanced out the rear window of the car, seeing a pair of headlights draw ever closer.

Jyn ignored Kay. “Saving your life put me in a very tight spot. I had to do this to maintain my cover.”

There was a scoff from the front seat. “By ‘this’, you mean, killing the Chancellor?”

He drew her head forward, pulling a sharp hairpin out of her bun. 

“I was going to do the same thing you did, injure him, get him out and then hightail it,” she said. 

“But they got to him first.”

“What about the other two guys that were there tonight? Cassian, you can’t just trust this woman!”

She rolled her eyes. “The other idiots? I’m assuming they were the backup plan of the backup plan.”

The pieces started to fall in his mind and he started to speak aloud. “One to kill you, one to kill the Chancellor. It was a test.”

“And I failed it.”

The headlights drew ever closer towards them. 

“Who are you working for? Who is the man in white?”

She grabbed his wrist. “We’re after the same thing. If you find me, we can work together.”

A gunshot rang out.

“Cassian, we should dump her now!”

Her grip on his wrist tightened. “This needs to look like an escape, so you guys need to dump me anywhere.”

“I agree with that!” Kay yelled as they swerved around the corner.

“You have everything you need to find me!” Jyn shouted as she threw herself out of the car.

Cassian looked back to see her lying on the ground, the other car bearing down on her as he and Kay sped off into the night. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> damn you meredith. I wanted to sleep and instead I wrote this on my phone. 
> 
> for best effect, this story should be read to the kaufmann/alsop nessun dorma from the 2015 bbc proms. mostly because it was the only decent quality one on youtube i could find while writing.


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